ThermoGenesis Announces Its ImmuneCyte Joint Venture Acquires Key Technologies to Develop Fully Human Polyclonal and Monoclonal Antibody Therapeutics for COVID-19
Tuesday, April 14, 2020
ThermoGenesis Holdings, Inc., a market leader in automated cell processing tools and services in the cell and gene therapy field, announced today that its joint venture, ImmuneCyte Life Sciences, Inc., has completed the acquisition of worldwide intellectual property for developing fully human antibody therapeutics for COVID-19. The acquired intellectual property includes four high-affinity monoclonal antibody drug candidates against SARS-CoV-2 (the virus causing COVID-19) and tools for screening and quantifying efficacy of such neutralizing antibodies. These high-affinity neutralizing monoclonal antibodies were obtained from the screening of enriched B cell libraries from individuals who have recently recovered from COVID-19 (i.e. from convalescent whole blood). The technologies were originally developed by a research team affiliated with East China Normal University, one of the most prestigious universities in China. The acquisition includes an undisclosed upfront cash payment and low double-digit future revenue sharing for the monoclonal antibody drug candidates under development. ThermoGenesis currently holds approximately 19% of the equity of ImmuneCyte.
There are currently no regulatory approved vaccine or drug therapies for COVID-19. Current estimates are that a vaccine for emergency use may be available by early 2021. Convalescent plasma therapy is an exploratory approach that involves giving patients an infusion of plasma from people who have recovered from COVID-19. ThermoGenesis is developing a convalescent plasma strategy for COVID-19 with its SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) IgM/IgG Antibody Fast Detection Kit, which, together with ImmuneCyte's newly acquired technologies, can quickly identify individuals who have developed protective immunity against the virus, and then, using ThermoGenesis' proprietary cell processing platform, allows for the simultaneous isolation of convalescent plasma and immune cells for potential anti-COVID-19 antibody development.
The key effectors in convalescent plasma are neutralizing antibodies, which can block the entrance of the virus into the cells, thus achieving its anti-viral effects. Purified neutralizing polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies could be safer and more potent and are expected to have much higher efficacy than convalescent plasma. With the acquisition of these key intellectual property technologies, ImmuneCyte will be further engaged in the development of anti- COVID-19 polyclonal and monoclonal neutralizing antibodies for COVID-19 treatment.
"The technologies acquired from a team associated with the world's leading institute in biological research will allow us to spearhead our antibody drug development against COVID-19," Chris Xu, Ph.D, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ThermoGenesis, commented, "Given the gravity of the situation, both ThermoGenesis and ImmuneCyte are rapidly mobilizing our respective expertise and resources to fight against the pandemic. The acquisition of the new technologies by ImmuneCyte, along with ThermoGenesis' established proprietary technologies in the automated cellular processing field, will allow us to develop highly efficient processing methods for making convalescent plasma and pursue the development of fully human polyclonal and monoclonal antibody therapies against COVID-19."
